Just Show Up explores life as it is for many of us in the areas of love, loss, family, nature, social consciousness, and just living day to day. Dottie lost her son, Chris to suicide, and many of the poems celebrate his life and serve as a record of his death and her responses to the many phases of grief. Living in Nature is another topic in this book that opens the heart to joy. Dottie has also suffered bouts of depression, and she takes us through her rise from illness to wellness. But life is celebrated in the pages of this book, too, because after everything is said and done, life is good.